Apple fesses up to faulty iPod touch screens
By Donald Melanson 
posted Sep 20th 2007 2:30PM
posted Sep 20th 2007 2:30PM
It looks like those complaining of problems with the iPod touch's screen weren't seeing things, as Apple has now reportedly confirmed that at least some early units did indeed ship with defective screens. That bit of news comes at the tail end of a review of the player by none other than Walt Mossberg, who reports that Apple says the problem affected a "small number of units" and that it is "being remedied." Exactly what that remedy entails, however, is unclear, as is the exact number of units affected. In related news, there's also been a few unconfirmed reports cropping up of similarly dim screens on newer iPhones, with the problem seemingly traced to units released after the now infamous price cut. No word from Apple on that, but if your new iPhone's display looks a little off, feel free to let us know.
Read - Walt Mossberg's review
Read - Apple forum discussion of iPod touch / iPhone screens
[Via AppleInsider]
Read - Walt Mossberg's review
Read - Apple forum discussion of iPod touch / iPhone screens
[Via AppleInsider]
Great post on acne scars. Here's a free video by an expert dermatologist with some answers http://www.dermtv.com/how-remove-acne-scars
first post woot
not even close
I'm still excited to get my iPod Touch! If it has a bad screen, I'll send it back.
Good video showing that the Touch screen is awful from ALL angles.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nYxlrsReUEU
haha attack of the Apple haters! There must have been a mas message to all Apple haters telling them all to converge onto this page and low rank anyone with anything positive to say.
I guess they're just jealous they can't afford the new toys like others can! :D
Whatever, if some pion has nothing better to do than low rank comments that have something positive to say, let them. Losers have to have fun too! :)
I ranked yours as good, theres probably just too many know it all geeks online at once! Hmm low rank someone who said if they have a bad scraan they will send it back! Maybe they want to have a bad screen so they have something to complain about and give them an excuse to ignore their wives :-)
hey dumbass.... pion??? dont you mean peon??? you are so rich and smart you cant even spell. Also, you're right, we are all very jealous of your overpriced iJunk. I can't wait for Apple to start packaging dog turds so you sheep will buy them and tout your fecal Apple products as the most advanced shit ever created! WOOOOOHOOOOO!
Hey Armadillo, please accept my most sincerest apologies for making a spelling mistake and ruining your day. After all, it is hard to type on a virtual keyboard.
I will chant 100 HAIL ARMADILLO's and whip myself 2000 times with a wet noodle. Please forgive me oh great Spelling Bee!
Perhaps you should consider investing in an iLife. You'll be interested to know that it also helps clear up teenage acne.
Now run along so you and your iPosse can be cool bashing Apple together!
So I see now that you can neither spell nor read. Amarillo.... it's a town, not an animal.
Oh I can certainly read and I know where Amarillo is. I even know it's in Texas without having to look at a map!
Tell me where Quebec is (and I don't mean the province)? How about Edmonton? Victoria perhaps?
You're obviously not the sharpest knife in the drawer. If you were, you'd have known right away I was making fun of you.
Now go play in traffic.
"Hey Armadillo, please accept my most sincerest apologies for making a spelling mistake and ruining your day. "
Don't try to make this out as a keystroke error. You simply didn't know how to spell the word properly. "I" and "E" are 4 keys apart on different hands. Man up and accept that you used a word you've never seen in print, and that you (incorrectly) spelled it phonetically.
Courtesy, your friendly neighborhood spell-check Nazi.
@ Don
Is that a gas chamber in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
how can I tell, is there a step by step testing procedure, I got one today, please let me know thanks.
Load this picture on your Touch. Get the large version of the pic.
http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php?quickkey=a1kzlptzud9&thumb=4
The dark portions of the eye show that "black negative" effect, if you have a defective unit. My Touch definitely has it and it's going back to the Apple store tomorrow.
Just load up a movie with a dark scene or Wesley Snipes. If you look at the screen straight-on, you'll notice that areas of about 80% darkness will have a shimmering quality and lose all detail. If you tilt the top left corner away, some of the dark area detail will return.
Damn! Used to be Eddie Murphy or Charlie Murphy were the "Blackest Brothers in town" according to Charlie Murphy but now they have Wesley Snipes to fall back on. This was one of the funniest lines in the Charlie Murphy True Hollywood stories in Chappelle Show. Thanks for the memories GenericWhiteGuy. You just put a big Cool Aid smile on my face :)
How are you supposed to even be able to tell? With mine it looks great most of the time, but with some dark scenes you have to hold it at the slight angle to see things. But I have heard people claim that you definately see something is wrong if you have a bad screen. Hopefully Apple can identify the bad ones by serial numbers or something. Nice to hear they fessed up though.
If you have to turn the screen to see the blacks, it's a defective unit. You should get it exchanged.
thank goodness mine hasn't shipped yet... i guess.
if apple wants to sell me one of those faulty screen units for $100 I'll gladly buy one. rather than just shoving them in the trash, sell them in the clearance store apple!!!
or tell me where the trash bin is and I'll go dig in it...
Wont they refurbish them?
Thankfully my iPod touch and my girlfriend's didn't come with a bad screen. They are great as Jobs announced they are.
Haha will low rank you for being straight
For being such a 'great' company, Apple sure does release alot of products with flaws especially the new iPod lineup.
Either that, or it's just more highly publicized when an Apple product is faulty (also, the fanboys raise hell about the smallest little thing, that other companies might be able to get away with).
Consumer Reports continually rates Apple quality and customer support at the top of all PC manufacturers; I don't see any reason to expect anything other than a relatively high ranking for consumer electronics as well.
There are lots of people on Engadget who like to complain that every story is about Apple; it only stands to reason that the same effect would be in play when it comes to reporting problems.
works both ways: apple gets way more coverage of new products than is probably merited (given the innovation, features and pricing of true competitors) but also gets a corresponding share of the negative coverage when things are proven bad.
wait, didnt stuff like this cause apple to go nearly bankrupt oh... 10 years ago?
Must be M$ fanboys who still don't believe there is a RROD.
My iPhone 8GB looks fine on dark scenes.
Mine had issues, so they held me a new one since it was a 20mile drive to replace, new on looks fne....they will only hold if you have a bad device for no fault of your own.
Thanks,
Faslane
is apple's quality lacking lately? ...defective screens on ipod touch and some nano's, if I can recall well there were screen probs also on some macbook (/pros)
... or is it that apple stuff going wrong just makes more news than from other hardware manifactureres?
I think there has been a bit of a falloff in Apple quality of late. Maybe they're growing too quickly, maybe they're over-extending their reach, but products shipping without an OS, numerous reports of poor quality production?
These are the things that hurt Dell so badly, and they had 15x the customer base Apple had.
Apple products have always had quality problems, hate to tell ya. You're just an Apple newb. Thing is, now people are actually buying their products, so they get to experience them. Whether or not there are more than before is impossible to tell for just that reason.
Proof? OK!
Early G3s - Defective HDs
3rd? gen iMacs - Defective fans
Early G5s - Defective logic boards
Powerbook 3400 - If yours didn't die for some reason, that was a miracle in itself
Add:
iBook G3/G4 - Defective Display Hinge, Battery problems
Add failing MacBook hardrives to the list too.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4782134
I purchased a second iPhone after the price cuts and the screen was exactly like what everyone is describing about the touch. I took it back a couple days after getting it and the employee told me apple has two screen manufacturers and if he allowed me to exchange it there is no guarentee the new one won't look the same. Luckily he allowed me to exchange it for a new one and the screen is better. It just bothered me that the employee was refusing to admit the obvious problem with the screen calling it normal... even though I had my other iPhone right there comparing the two. This was on Sunday... the next day I saw the news about the touch's screen and had to let it be known that this is not limited to just the new iPod.
Sent from my iPhone
For the people wondering if they have the problem, have a read through this (very long) thread from apple's discussion site. There are various links (particuarly near the bottom) that highlight and test the screen. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1131324
Yeah, nobody torture your self trying to load dark movies and trying to guess if you have a good screen. Just follow the link mentioned above and look for the link to the grey scale page. all your looking for is to ensure the left black box is darker than the one after it, if it is then you are fine.
all reports coming in are that apple fixed this, all shipping ipod touches today should be good to go....also they changed the box art back to Macy Grey
I'm thinking mine does have a bad screen. Some people on the forums were using this clip as a benchmark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyP8kEiHKxA (Silence of the Lambs Scene 2). I know on mine it looks like crap, and only looks somewhat decent if you turn it slightly up and left. Though it's a really dark scene.
Speaking of faulty screen images, hows a bout finding a photo of the touch that wasn't originally grabbed from a cmyk image?
http://images.apple.com/ipodtouch/images/hero_overview_20070905.png
for correct color temperature.
It's the fact that blacks appear inverted, making humans look like ghosts in the process. It's not a color temperature issue. From what I saw, the color reproduction is actually pretty good.
I bought one from Best Buy last Friday and it took the horrifying screen, among with other small bugs, for me to realize that I'm much better off saving the $400 dollars and waiting for the next generation with fewer problems and more features and storage.
My Iphone has something wrong with the screen, it is the same thing that everyone is complaining about with their touchs. I went to apple in soho and the guy there told me there is nothing he could do and it looked like it was the way i was perceiving it, and there was nothing wrong with my iphone. I still have the same iphone and I am not sure what to do now. Since apple was no help to me.
The folks at SoHo for some reason are really arrogant, condescending jerks. I went through an exchange and finally a full-refund on my ipod touch. They gave me a bit of trouble both times. But I just insisted and pressed the issue. They caved in the end, but I was not pleased. IF i decide to replace my ipod touch, I'll be getting it elsewhere.
Bound to happen.... My girlfriend works for a company that has 97% of their product made in China, Taiwan, or similar. They're notorious for trying to slip cheaper components in or moving the line along at a pace where QC is thrown out the window. Nothing like a container full of defective product coming off the boat when the samples they originally sent were exactly to your specs.
Notice that the ever-blabbering Mac Bigots are completely absent.
And the ever-blabbering Mac Haters are in full force
We are tired. We really are. Its just too much.
We dont have as much stamina as all you brown-nosing sheep. No matter how many times apple slaps you with their disappointment dildo, you keep asking for more.
We dont know how you do it.
I don't hate Macs, I don't hate PCs, either. I just wish the overzealous fanboys on both sides would just shut the hell up and enjoy the technology for what it is. Who cares if the logo is Fruit or Fenestra... People should just chill out and have fun with it, without being an ass.
Walt Mossberg's a tool
Yep, hes the biggest Apple apologist out there
People need to stop pretending this tool has any kind of credibility. Only moron would consider the Mac the end all/be all of IT and Computing. Mossy has tongue lodged so deep up Jobs' as that he's literally sh!tfaced drunk off Apple Kool-Aid.
Mine arrived today (ordered from Apple.com with engraving) and the screen seems fine. I went to the Apple store yesterday and looked at all of the display models and they all looked OK also.
My iPod shipped and will be here tomorrow, should it have one of the new working screens?
I got a touch last friday from the apple store in chicago & everything about it is great. Apple is going to handle it fine. There is a 90 day return/exchange if there is a hardware/software problem, so I am not worried about it. Granted I am still going to buy applecare so that I can be sure I don't run into any battery problems or screen problems down the road.
@ petecuba
I too got an iTouch last Friday at the Michigan Ave store. what time did you get yours? I scored mine about 12:30. and yours is fine? Mine is somewhat tolerable but the blacks are obviously bad.
i picked mine up around 2. the blacks aren't amazing, but i rarely see an lcd screen where they are
i picked mine up around 2. the blacks aren't amazing, but i rarely see an lcd screen where they are
I wonder if it's due to a misaligned polarizer on the LCD, but you'd think QC would catch that in a heartbeat.
apparently there was a change if i found on mac rumors, all the touches with screen problems were before week 38 on the serial number. All the ipods people are getting from preorders appear to be week 38 serial numbers and they have no negative problems
Yea my iTouch I just got today seems to have "negative" blacks, I've only watched one Youtube video, and the Apple Store said I got 2 weeks to return it no questions asked, so I'm gonna wait a few days and see if it bugs me
My iphone 8g has a jacked up screen in black areas. When you look at it, it almost feels like your eyes are crossed or slightly out of focus. It has to be tilted to an almost 45 degree angle to see it correctly. I'll wait to see what happens before I make a moved because, thanks to engadget, my phone's unlocked.
My first iPhone was dropped ONE TIME, and the bottom half of the screen becamse unresponse. They have to be using some pretty cheap materials in this thing, because it is FRAGILE!
Ive got a launch iphone with the white grid dots...Apple sure has lost its attention to detail it used to have
And once again the trendy hipsters who buy Apple products will give them a free pass, all the while finding some way of blaming Microsoft.
I'm on my third iPhone:
The first had a dead pixel.
The second, I... Um... Screwed the IMEI trying to unlock it. (The guys at the apple store, without knowing what I was trying to do, had no idea how to fix it. They eventualy just replaced it)
(BTW: DO NOT RUN ANYSIM TWICE IN A ROW WITHOUT RUNNING BBUPDATE TO THE ORIGINAL FIRMWARE, and make sure you remove your sim, and start with an iphone that has JUST been restored)
The third however works great, but the screen seems like someone turned up the contrast a little.
I'm not sure but I think I've been the exception to the rule.
If you need to test your screen, check this out;
http://www.geekanoids.co.uk/2007/09/ipod-touch-iphone-screen-test-movie.html
we have two iphone, and mine of course always had gamma(?) issues.... Compare to the other iphone, the picture shows up dark on the iphone screen even if the brightness is at full.
i havent taken to the apple store to see if i could get a replacement but maybe i should.. :/
Yes go ahead. After the whole 3G iPod battery class action lawsuit, Apple has been very generous in taking back things that they messed up...
Apple making the proverbial buck - prices drop but so does quality. They need to check themselves before they tarnish their rep even more!
One thing you learn by being a long time Apple customer. Stay away from first generation products. Apple always seems to gunk those up, but a few months later the problem is always solved. At least Apples product problems crop up within the warranty period, and if you have ever delt with getting an Apple product repaired, they are generally nice and have a quick turn around time.
A friend of mine got his at launch, and there's nothing wrong with the screen, not evene when using that test image. So I'm confident that the one I'm getting in a few weeks will be fine.
I got mine the day it came out when I saw the unboxing here on engadget and just tested the screen. I haven't done much movie watching on it yet, but mine def has the screen problem now that I have tested it. I checked it with the greyscale image and the left image is much lighter than the one to the right of it. I called my apple store and they are all out of ipod touches, but might get some in tomorrow... I plan on calling to see if they get a shipment and heading to the store to get one if they do.
Do I need to take back the entire box, or just the touch itself?
I've exchanged my iphone twice for a light bleeding problem and a poorly set bezel problem. The last replacement I got has the freaking white dots/checkered pattern issue. So, tired of going to the apple store, I mailed it in, and they sent the phone back without repair claiming that "the problem couldn't be reproduced." I'm tired of dealing with this, but I might exchange it next time I'm in the neighborhood of the apple store. Frankly, I am very unhappy with the lack of response.
Shame on you apple, shame.
Anybody else had luck with getting apple to fess up to this problem?
I got an ipod touch the day it came out... it's screen has that black negative effect but that's not the worst problem... Every time i plug mine into the computer the date and time changes to a random month and time of day. 10 minutes ago it was august 20th 10PM now it's June 10th 2AM..... Also with the screen... There are like 100 dead pixels... i remember the dead pixel problem with the psp so i have my experience with it... it looks like a stary night sky when it's all black... so im going to try and return it to the apple store... hopefully i can get an exchange...
New version of the test movie here:
http://www.geekanoids.co.uk/2007/09/updated-version-of-ipod-touch-iphone.html
And static images (used in the video) here:
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/small/
That's it, you scared me for good, i just canceled my iPod Touch from the apple store. I had to choose a reason from a list to cancel but shitty quality was not a choice. I'm going with the nokia 800 instead, seem much more reliable and they are cheaper on ebay.
LIKE OMG! IS YOUR CAPSLOCK STUCK TOO?
My new Ipod Nano has a few dead pixels. Can you write an article aboout that? Or am I the only one who has that problem..
My first iphone had a great screen but the volume key was broke, they sent me a new iphone w/ a grid lined screen w/ white dots and about a dozen dead pixels. And i was an early adopter...screwed twice.
Hey Armadillo, please accept my most sincerest apologies for making a spelling mistake and ruining your day. After all, it is hard to type on a virtual keyboard.
I will chant 100 HAIL ARMADILLO's and whip myself 2000 times with a wet noodle. Please forgive me oh great Spelling Bee!
Perhaps you should consider investing in an iLife. You'll be interested to know that it also helps clear up teenage acne.
Now run along so you and your iPosse can be cool bashing Apple together!
Think it's time Apple gets some new factories in China....
The lack of iCal input and missing mail app are the only things keeping me from getting one. I have a Palm I want to get rid of, but without iCal input, I'll just keep using my three year old iPod. I hope that Apple didn't make a deal with the devil (ATT), that's forcing contractual limitations on their other products for years to come. I hope Steve hears out our strong opinions, and reconsiders these gimps. Like that little rebate incident he had to deal with recently.
@ "Kevin"
I agree, all technology has something come up bad sooner or later, just go to apple, show them the screen and they'll exchanges it....2 kinds of people out there talkers and
doers. Get off your bitching asses and just go exchange it already....jesus H Christ. Are we all 5 years old still? Apple didn't ask a single question..they saw the probem, and brought me a new one, and I checked it in the store while I was there so that I wouldn't get anther faulty one, that simple. Chill the f-out , bitch about something meaningful like a worldly event that you COULD help, God knows there are plenty of other problems in the world where your bitching might actually do some good!!!
Faslane
Peace Out!! Call me a Hippie, I CARE! laughs Sarcastically, while watching movies on new ipod tough hahahhahaha
will it blend?
will it blend?
Bad 8GB iPhone here. Bought last weekend. I posted a image in this thread:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=4216081#post4216081
Screen ID: 7455232
Serial # ***30******
Same here. 8GB iPhone bought Tuesday 9/18
Serial #***34******. Haven't taken it back yet, hoping to hear that new batches no longer show the negative black issue.
Since this thread is full of a lot of useless information with meaningless banter about who is more of a fanboi or an apple hater, I’ll contribute some useful information.
The 4th and 5th numbers in the serial number are the week it was manufactured. The first week was week 36. 99% of 36's have a defective screen, Most (~80%) of week 37's also has a defective screen. The people, who pre-ordered from apple the day of the announcement, just started receiving theirs and early reports are that all of them are perfectly fine and are week 38. So if you plan on buying one, make sure it is a week 38 or newer. Apparently no apple stores or retailers have week 38's yet.
I'm not sure you actually read the thread. Useless information? The two posts right before yours show serial numbers and even screen ids. Also the 4th and 5th character of the serial #'s. I even posted a link with an image of proof of a defective screen and it was week 30. Nick above has the exact same problem, screen id, and week built. Obviously it didn't start with week 36.
I went to Best Buy yesterday to buy my 16 gig touch but the sales lady told me to wait until X-Mas because she is being told there is a 32 gig touch that will be launched around december. I asked is that was in the system or what and she just said that that is what she is being told. Has anyone heard about this???????????? I have not seen anything that says this but I wondering if anyone out there could tell me more about this.
She had one 16 GB touch left and she wanted it for herself, so she told you something crazy to get you to hold off.
They would not release any iPods in December. That's a bit late for Holiday rollout. September is close enough, don't you think?
Now, April or May? Probably. But realize that if the 16GB flash makes the touch $399, then 32GB of flash would be outrageous right now.
And for the record, I had a faulty touch, but today I exchanged and got a week 38, and it seems OK. Apple sorts things out pretty quickly once they realize there's a problem.
That's for Iphones Nathan... Is there anything else you got or can I go back to TF2? L2READ
I think it's pretty funny that people can get so competitive over a company. I did buy the ipod Touch, and no, I do not have a defective screen. However, I do feel that Apple has slipped a bit in terms of customer satisfaction. I realize that sometimes it is a quality-control issue with a parts manufacturer or contracted factory, but it is Apple's response to these issues that concerns me. Steve Jobs only offered rebates and credits after being criticized for seeming aloof as to customer complaints regarding slashed iphone prices. To me, that is even worse than if he had stuck to his original statement about the tech world being a gamble. It says that he only acts in his consumers' interests when there are enough of them to make a splash in the media. And now here we go again with the ipod touch screen. I'm sure that if this were a localized problem, affecting less than 100 units, Apple would never had admitted the problem at all. It's just poor customer care...and ultimately a poorr business model.
I have an iPhone and my screen this morning isn't turning on. I can dock and sync just fine, so I'm wondering if there's something going on with iPhone screens as well. I now have a trip to the Apple Store planned for today :(
Rofl @ apple haters
When apple has a fault and ppl complain they are ' apple haters '
If microsoft has a fault and ppl complain its ' typical faulty microsoft '
Grow up children, play with your mitten mouse.
BTW microsoft owns part of apple, simply put, you buy that product, guess who gets a cut -_-'
When your at the cutting edge of consumer technology, some flaws will get through. It now how bad there flaws are but how Apple deal with them. As far as I know Apple will replace or refund, what more can you ask for.
If you take Windows Vista or XP back to the shop and ask for a refund because it keeps crashing, all you'll get is the assistant laughing at you (as he did when you bought that cheap PC from him). If MS gave you your money back when they sold you faulty goods, I would respect them more.